Great. But what if those quotes are wrong?
Everyone tracks cycle time. It’s easy to measure, easy to celebrate. But there’s a question I almost never hear in manufacturing: what percentage of quotes go out with the correct configuration, correct pricing, and correct margin the first time?
Most companies don’t measure this. They measure win rate instead. And win rate is a lagging indicator that buries quoting problems inside “we lost on price” explanations.
Maybe the price was too high. Or maybe the margin was pulled from a spreadsheet that hasn’t been updated since 2023. Or the configuration didn’t match what the customer actually asked for. From a win rate report, you can’t tell the difference. It all just shows up as “lost.”
I’ve started asking commercial directors a different question: do you know how many of your quotes contain a pricing error? The silence that follows tells you everything.
Because once you see that number — say 23% — the whole conversation shifts. You’re no longer talking about “improving sales performance.” You’re looking at a system that produces incorrect output a quarter of the time. That’s not a sales problem. That’s a process problem. And manufacturing people know how to fix process problems.
The fix isn’t faster quoting. It’s a quoting process where configuration, pricing, and margin are validated before anything leaves the building.
Speed is a nice metric. Accuracy is the one that actually costs you money.